Cigarette dispensers



July 27, 1965 H. P. CASEY CIGARETTE DISPENSERS 4 6 2 l, 3 2 %2/ [H /3 4 A 0 F 8 1M i I 1 4 s 3 W I'll/l QM M d m 1 F Hubert E Casey INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,197,063 QHGAPQETTE DESPENSERS Hubert P. Casey, Marietta, 6a., assignor to Hamill-Smoke, Inc., Atlanta, Ga, a corporation of Georgia- Filed May 8, 1963, Ser. No. 281,074 2 Claims. (Cl. 221-195) This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in dispensers for cigarettes, and the principal object of the invention is to facilitate dispensing of one cigarette at a time by the manipulation of only one hand, whereby the invention is particularly adapted for use by automobile drivers and the like.

An important feature of the invention therefore, resides in the particular structural arrangement of the dispenser and the dispensing means associated with a hopper for cigarettes; while another feature lies in the provision of a receptacle into which a cigarette may drop after it is dispensed, so that it may be easily removed therefrom by the same hand that actuated the dispensing mechanism.

Other advantages of the invention lie in its simplicity of construction, convenient operation, pleasing appearance, and its adaptability to economical manufacture on a mass production basis.

With the above more important objects and features in mind, and such other objects and features as become apparent during the further progress of this specification, the invention consists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts and elements as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

PEG. 1 is a view in perspective of a device embodying the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross sectional view of the device of FIG. 1, taken substantially along the line 2-2 of said figure; and

FIG. 3 is a transverse cross sectional view, taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2.

Like numerals designate like parts throughout the various figures of the drawing.

Referring now to the drawing, the instant invention consists of a cigarette dispenser designated generally by the numeral 19, the same embodying in its construction a vertically elongated housing 12 consisting of a pair of vertically spaced side walls 14, a front wall 16, and back walls 18 and 20; preferably fabricated from a transparent plastic material, although this is optional.

The lower edge portion of the back wall 18 is inwardly and downwardly angulated so as to provide an inclined bottom 22 for a cigarette hopper 24 located in the upper portion of the housing, while the lower portion of the housing constitutes a cigarette receptacle 26, which will be hereinafter more fully described.

It is also to be noted that an openable cover 28 is hinged to the back wall 18 of the housing 12 as at 30, whereby convenient access may be had to the interior of the hopper 24 for the purpose of filling the same with cigarettes.

This dispensing mechanism per se assumes the form of what may be referred to as a check member or plate 32 which is positioned against the inner surface of a transferring member 34, the latter in turn being vertically slidable on the inner surface of the front wall 16 of the housing and suitable fastening elements such as screws 36 extending through the members 32, and 34 for the purpose of securing the same together for simultaneous sliding movement.

Fastening elements 36 are slidable in vertical slots 38 with which the front wall 16 is provided, while a suitable guide plate 40, equipped with a forwardly projecting 3,19itfi63 Patented July 27, 1955 "ice finger piece 42 is mounted on the elements 36 so that the members 32 and 34 may be moved upwardly as indicated at 44 from the lowered position shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings.

It is to be noted that the lower end portion of the transferring member 34 is preferably inwardly arcuated as at 46, this portion being spaced downwardly from the lower edge of 32, it will also be noted that the forward or leading edge 48 of the bottom 22 is spaced rearwardly from the front wall 16, so that a horizontally elongated outlet opening 58 exists between the hopper 24 and the receptacle 26.

Hence, when the dispensing machanism is in its lowered position as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the lower edge portion of the check member 32 is disposed substantially in the opening 48 so as to restrict the width of said opening, and thereby prevent cigarettes in the hopper from dropping downwardly at this time. However, when the dispensing mechanism is slid upwardly as indicated at 4.4, the lowermost cigarette on the bottom 22 of the hopper will be permitted to roll onto the arcuate portion 46 of the transferring member 34, so that when the dispensing mechanism is subsequently permitted to drop downwardly by its own weight, the cigarette, indicated by the dotted lines 52 of FIGURE 2, will drop into the receptacle 26 as indicated at 54. While the dispensing mechanism. is returning to its lowered position, check plate 32 will again restrict the width of the outlet opening 48, so that only one cigarette is dispensed at a time.

The back wall 20 of the housing 12 is arcuated forwardly so as to provide a bottom 56 for the receptacle 26, it being noted that the receptacle has an open front 58 so that the dispensed cigarette may be readily removed from the receptacle by the same hand that actuates the dispensing mechanism if so desired.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the instant invention will be clearly apparent from the foregoing disclosure and that accordingly further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While there has been shown and described herein a preferred embodiment of said invention, it is understood that certain modifications, changes, additions, re-arrangements, subtractions and the like may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claims, which are to be accorded a construction and meaning fairly in keeping with the contribution to the art.

I claim:

1. In a cigarette dispenser, the combination of a housing affording a hopper and a receptacle under the hopper, said receptacle having an open front, said hopper including a front wall operatively joined to side walls and a rear wall and an inclined bottom spaced from the rear of said front wall to afford an elongated outlet opening at this point, a check member slidable upwardly adjacent the inner surface of said front Wall from a lowered position wherein it is disposed in said opening to prevent outlet of cigarettes therethrough, a cigarette transferring member provided under and slidable with said check member for delivering cigarettes from said opening into said receptacle, the bottom edge of the transfer member having an inwardly curved segment terminating adjacent to and below said check member, said front wall being provided with a vertical slot, an outwardly projecting element secured to said check member and transferring member and slidable in said slot, and an actuating piece mounted on said projecting element at the outer surface of the front wall with which it connects, for sliding said check and transfer members.

r, (.9 2. The device of claim 1 in which the housing is provided with a hinged cover for the hopper portion thereof.

Reierences Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 163,922 6/21 Great Britain 704,802 2/31 France.

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Primary Examiner.

LOUIS I. DEMBO, Examiner. 

1. IN A CIGARETTE DISPENSER, THE COMBINATION OF A HOUSING AFFORDING A HOPPER AND A RECEPTACLE UNDER THE HOPPER, SAID RECEPTACLE HAVING AN OPEN FRONT, SAID HOPPER INCLUDING A FRONT WALL OPERATIVELY JOINED TO SIDE WALLS AND A REAR WALL AND AN INCLINED BOTTOM SPACED FROM THE REAR OF SAID FRONT WALL TO AFFORD AN ELONGATED OUTLET OPENING AT THIS POINT, A CHECK MEMBER SLIDABLE UPWARDLY ADJACENT THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID FRONT WALL FROM LOWERED POSITION WHEREIN IT IS DISPOSED IN SAID OPENING TO PREVENT OUTLET OF CIGARETTES THERETHROUGH, A CIGARETTE TRANSFERRING MEMBER PROVIDED UNDER AND SLIDABLE WITH SAID CHECK MEMBER FOR DELIVERING CIGARETTES FROM SAID OPENING INTO SAID RECEPTACLE, THE BOTTOM EDGE OF THE TRANSFER MEMBER HAVING AN INWARDLY CURVED SEGMENT TERMINATING ADJACENT TO AND BELOW SAID CHECK MEMBER, SAID FRONT WALL BEING PROVIDED WITH A VERTICAL SLOT, AN OUTWARDLY PROJECTING ELEMENT SECURED TO SAID CHECK MEMBER AND TRANSFERRING MEMBER AND SLIDABLE IN SAID SLOT, AND AN ACTUATING PIECE MOUNTED ON SAID PROJECTING ELEMENT AT THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE FRONT WALL WITH WHICH IT CONNECTS, FOR SLIDING SAID CHECK AND TRANSFER MEMBERS. 